Anivia’s passive is “Rebirth” and ensures that Anivia turns into an egg when she takes fatal damage. If the egg is not destroyed by the enemy team within 6 seconds, Anivia is reborn. This passive has a cooldown of 6 minutes and allows you to play quite aggressively when she is ready.

At level 1, you start with Anivia’s Q, “Lightning Ice”, which causes Anivia to flap her wings and send an ice crystal flying in the chosen direction. The crystal deals magic damage to all enemies in its path and chills them. At maximum range or by reactivating the Q, the crystal explodes, dealing increased magic damage in a radius and stunning all enemies in the area. The Q is therefore great as a follow up CC or to land catches when your opponents can’t see you. It is maximized second, as Anivia’s main source of damage is her E.

At level 2, you will then also take Anivia’s E, “Frostbite”, which, when activated, triggers a frosty gust of wind that deals magic damage to the selected target. Hypothermic enemies suffer double damage as a result, which is why you almost always want to follow up a Q with an E. With a cooldown of just 4 seconds, the E is often available and is therefore the first to be maximized. At level 3, you also invest a second point in the E to be able to trade better in the lane.

Only at level 4 do you skill up with the W, “Crystallize”, Anivia’s last basic ability. If you use W, Anivia will condense the moisture in the air into a wall of ice that remains in place for 5 seconds. This allows you to completely block narrow lanes so that champions have to use their dashes or flashes to get past the wall. In lane, you mainly use the W to cut off your opponent’s escape route and make it easier to hit your Q. Later in the game, you can use the W to block the entrances to the river while taking Objectives. You maximize the W last, as it does no damage to your opponents and offers pure utility.

You level Anivia’s ultimate ability “Ice Storm” at levels 6, 11 and 16. When activated, Anivia summons ice and hail, which damage and slow down enemies in the selected area. The ice storm grows for the first 1.5 seconds and as soon as it reaches its full size, enemies hit suffer hypothermia. In addition, the damage is tripled and the slow is increased by 50%. The Ult can deal a lot of constant area damage in combination with CC and also offers the possibility of blocking the entire width of the river or a lane together with the W. You can use this to block your opponents. You can use this to prevent your opponents from contesting an objective or to besiege towers. Defensive use is also possible, as Anivias Q and Ult offer plenty of waveclear and are therefore ideal for prolonging games and enabling comebacks.

Combos: Anivia’s standard combo for trades in lane is Q->AA->E, which causes the E to deal double damage. From level 6, this combo becomes R->Q->AA->E, as you can hit the Q more easily by slowing your ult. You can also use your W to make it more difficult for an opponent to dodge or to be ready in case you are ganked. In teamfights, you also use this combo and then follow up with more Es.